


What Home Really Feels Like

by WakandaForever2357



Series: Peter Parker's Home Dilemma [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awesome Peter Parker, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Mentioned Skip Westcott, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Nick Fury is Not Amused, Nightmares, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Has Issues, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark, Steve is a boomer, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Threats, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Training, Wanda Maximoff & Peter Parker Friendship, and other stuff, everybody has trauma, why is tagging so hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WakandaForever2357/pseuds/WakandaForever2357
Summary: Sequel To Is It Too Much to Ask For Home That Lasts? Ft. Peter ParkerPeter Parker is now living with the Avengers, which takes a lot of getting used to.Follow Peter as he steps into his new life filled with excitement and uncertainty and navigates a new world filled with domestic superheroes, embarrassment, and angst. Lots of angst.Prompts are welcome!
Relationships: Clint Barton & Peter Parker, Loki & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff & Peter Parker
Series: Peter Parker's Home Dilemma [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116332
Comments: 53
Kudos: 179





	1. Author's Note

Hi guys!  
I know it's been a while, and I swear I didn't mean to put this much gap between writing, it just kind of happened. I'm back now, and I have a lot of ideas coming, so keep your eyes peeled for fics that are coming soon!   
For now though, I want to focus on this sequel. It's basically a book of oneshots following Peter and his adventures as he starts to live with the Avengers. I do have a lot of ideas for this, and the idea of my sequel being a book of oneshots was in my mind before I finished my previous work.   
Prompts are welcome, if you have one, put it in the comments and I'll try my best to write it down as soon as possible.  
My update schedule will be sporadic, but pretty frequent, probably like one chapter a week or so.   
I also wanted to thank all readers for dropping comments and kudos, I really love that! It inspires me to write and I do it for you guys out there. I'm going to be a bit more active when it comes to responding to comments, because I know that was something I didn't do a lot in my first fic.   
I also want to make it clear that I don't own any Marvel characters or anything else I may borrow from the MCU, I'm just writing about them. (Though I wish I could own such amazing things!)  
That's it for now, my first chapter should be out in a day or two.   
Stay Safe!


	2. Testing Peter's Abilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helen tests Peter's abilities with a few simple tests, and the results leave everybody amazed.

It had been about a month since Peter had arrived at Stark Tower and Ms. Helen was taking him up on his offer to his abilities. He was pretty curious himself since he had never tested his abilities by himself. 

Ms. Helen had told him to come down into the gym. He was accompanied by the Avengers, who were pretty interested in learning about his abilities as well. 

"Peter!" Helen said cheerfully. 

"Hi, Ms. Helen," he said, grinning. 

She rolled her eyes. "How many times have I told you to call me Helen, Peter?"

"Probably as many times as I've asked him to call _me_ Tony," Tony grumbled. 

"It's called _manners,_ Mr. Stark. Just because _you_ don't have them-"

"Ooooooh, he has you there, Stark."

" _Excuse me-_ "

" _Anyways,"_ Helen interrupted loudly. "I just have a few quick tests for you, Peter."

"Sure, Ms. Helen. Where do we start?"

"Well, I wanted to start with testing your strength. If you could come here and try lifting these weights, please. Tony has designed them since Thor and Steve frequent the gym, and the max he was able to design is a 50-ton weight, although Thor can lift more than that."

Peter started to lift, and he was surprised by how far he made it. He was able to lift easily until 7.5 tons, and then he had to start labouring. He managed to make it to 10 tons. 

"Impressive," Helen murmured. "You beat Captain America, whose maximum is 2 tons."

"Ha!" Clint crowed in delight. "Cap, you got beat by a shrimp!"

"I suspect that's not the only thing Peter will beat Steve in," Helen said with a wry smile. "Peter, if you could start running on this treadmill, please."

Peter got on and started running, slowly increasing his speed. He kept running and running, losing track of everything except for the beating of his heart and the thuds of his feet against the treadmill. He only zoned when Helen yelled, "Peter, stop!"

He jolted and stopped, which was a big mistake. The speed of the treadmill launched him backwards at terrific force. He flew backwards and hit the wall with a nasty crunch. 

" _Ow,"_ he hissed.

"Kid, you okay?" Tony said, rushing over. 

"Yeah, I am totally fine. I've just been launched off a catapult at high speed and hit the wall, but yeah, I am completely fine," he muttered. 

Tony sighed in relief. "Sarcasm, that's a good sign. But seriously, you okay?"

"I'll live," Peter said, standing up. "How fast was I going?"

"You were going at about 150 kilometres per hour," Clint said in an awestruck tone. "That's _seriously_ fast."

"You beat Steve here by about 60 kilometres," Sam said, clapping Peter on the shoulder. "You should have seen the look on his face, man. It was the best thing I've ever seen. He looked like he was sucking on a lemon."

"I did _not!_ " Steve protested.

"You totally did," Clint said, laughing.

Steve huffed. 

"Kid, you _need_ to come jogging with us," Sam said. "It'll make my day, no, it'll make my _year_ to watch you pass Steve and see the look on the smug bastard's face." 

Tony and Clint laughed and Steve glared at Sam, who ignored him. 

"Next up is your healing, Peter. I can't really do much about this without a blood sample-" Peter paled "but don't worry, I'm not forcing you to give one if you don't feel comfortable with it. I was hoping you could just tell me a little bit more about your healing."

Peter sighed in relief. "Yeah, I can do that. The first thing is that my healing factor is dependent on my metabolism, so if I eat less, my healing is slower, and if I eat more, then my healing is faster."

"So how fast is your healing at your full speed?"

"I actually don't know," Peter said quietly.

A long silence followed Peter's words. "Peter . . ." Natasha said slowly, "if you don't know how fast your healing factor is at full speed, then that means you've never been eating the amount of food you should be eating. 

Peter fidgeted and mumbled "Yes," without looking at anyone.

"Peter, how come you've never eaten the amount of food you should be eating?"

"I couldn't," Peter said. "Me and May, well, we didn't have money problems, per se, but money was tight, and I didn't want to add any further stress by asking for more food."

"Peter, food is a _necessity._ You shouldn't feel shy to ask for more food to eat."

Peter wanted to argue, but he kept quiet.

"Well, kid, you won't have to worry about money here. I _am_ a billionaire, so I can get you all the food you want. You have any favourites you want me to order?"

"You can chat about that later," Helen interrupted. "Right now, I want to continue. Is there any more you can tell me about your healing or your metabolism?"

"Well, the fastest I've ever seen my healing work is healing broken bones in one and a half day. Flesh wounds and bullet wounds took minutes to hours, depending on their severity, and burns took 3 days."

Helen took a few more notes on her clipboard and then asked, "What about your senses?"

"They are enhanced, but I usually just keep them to about a normal level. When I use them, I can see ahead for about a mile and I can hear within the same radius." 

"Anything else?"

"Well, I have really good balance, reflexes, agility, and flexibility. There's also the sticking thing and my spider-sense."

"Let's start with balance, reflexes, and flexibility. How flexible are you?" 

"Not sure, I've never really tested it."

That started an impromptu yoga session with Natasha, and everybody was amazed by how flexible Peter was. 

"There's no way that's human," Sam said, staring in disbelief at Peter, who had managed to touch his toes with his elbows. 

"I gotta agree with Sam on this. This is insane," Clint said. 

"They are both correct. This degree of flexibility is not humanly possible, so it's safe to say that it's been enhanced. Let's turn to reflexes and balance."

That started a sparring session focused on Peter dodging blows. He dodged every single one, and then nailed the balance test, standing perfectly balanced on every weird surface thrown at him.

"Well, your agility has already been shown," Helen said, "but do you mind giving us a demonstration?"

"Gladly," Peter said with a grin before launching into a backflip. He showcased his wide range of aerial maneuvers, swinging around the gym.

He dropped back by a dazed-looking Ms. Helen with a spirited grin on his face as he looked at all the Avenger's amazed faces.

Ms. Helen cleared her throat, "That was . . . "

"Insane."

"Impossible."

"Incredible."

Peter blushed and asked quickly, "Can we move on?"

Next up came his stickiness, and he got to weird out the other Avengers by sticking to everything.

"The stickiness comes from me," he explained, dropping down from the ceiling. "It goes through my suit and I can stick to practically anything, but it's harder on wet, slick, or crumbling surfaces."

"You are one weird person," Sam said, shaking his head.

Ms. Helen took a look at her clipboard. "Looks like the only thing left is your "spidey-sense" as you call it. Can you explain it?"

"It's basically this buzzing I get in my head when I'm in danger. It alerts me to threats before they hit me, like punches, sneak attacks, objects being thrown at me - hey!"

Peter ducked and just missed an apple that had been thrown at his head. He looked around.

"All right who-" he flipped away as something else was thrown. 

It derailed into chaos as more objects were thrown as Peter flipped and twirled to avoid. It only ended when Helen shouted, "Enough!" and fixed everybody with her scariest glare.

"I think we're done here."

* * *

_The next day_

"On your left!"

Steve cursed.

"Ha! That's what you get, you smug bastard!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think it was? Let me know in the comments.  
> Most of the facts I wrote about Peter's abilities are canon, but I did make up a few, such as his speed and how far he can sense.  
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter and make sure to stay safe!


	3. Lab Time and Some Surprising News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is introduced to Bruce, and Tony tells him some surprising news.

"Peter, you want to head down to my lab with me after breakfast?" Tony asked casually. 

Peter froze, wondering if he had heard that right. "You want _me_ to come down to your lab," he repeated faintly.

"That's what I said." Tony looked amused. 

"Su-Sure," he stuttered.

Tony laughed. "Okay, then. I'm going to finish my coffee and go down. You're free to come whenever you want."

Peter nodded. "Sounds good, Mr.Stark."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Peter found himself outside the door of Tony's lab, about to enter a place any nerd would give their right arm to go in. 

He took a deep breath to step inside. 

"Kid!" Tony called from a table. "Glad you could make it."

"Wow," Peter breathed, spinning around slowly to take it all in. "Your lab is amazing, Mr. Stark."

Mr. Stark shrugged. "It's all right."

Peter stared at him incredulously. "It's _all right?_ It's amazing! Most people out there would give their right hands to get a look inside this place! It's like, the ultimate mystery for any science person on the Internet. There are tons of theories and ideas about what it's like inside here."

"I get it, kid. My lab is amazing," Tony said, chuckling. 

Peter blushed and asked, "What am I supposed to do, Mr. Stark?"

"Anything you want, kid. Knock yourself out."

Peter decided to explore the lab. It was _huge_ and took a lot of time to explore. He went through tech, holograms, and equipment before reaching a trio of bots, who turned towards him. 

"Um, Mr. Stark, what are these?"

Mr. Stark glanced over. "Oh, that's DUM-E, Butterfingers, and U. Some of the first bots I made."

Peter reached out and gently patted DUM-E, and was surprised when the bot whirred and made a series of happy sounding squeaks. It was the same with the other bots.

"They're pretty cool," Peter admitted.

"Uh, Tony?" a nervous voice said from the doorway. "Who is this?"

Peter turned around and his jaw dropped open.

"Brucie!" Tony exclaimed. "You're finally back! From . . . where was it, Indonesia?"

"Nepal, actually," THE Bruce Banner said, rolling his eyes.

Mr. Stark shrugged. "Eh, close enough."

"Who's the kid?" Bruce Banner asked again. 

"Oh yeah, that's Peter. He lives with us now. Also, he's Spider-Man."

"Wait, _what?!_ "

"You heard me."

"I heard you, all right. I meant what as in _what the hell._ Why do we have a teenager living with us?"

"We nearly killed him, so it's a courtesy."

" _What?!_ "

"The kid will tell you. Come on, Peter, speak up."

"You're Bruce Banner," Peter said in an awestruck tone.

Mr. Stark rolled his eyes. "Great job, kid, that cleared up absolutely nothing."

"You're Bruce Banner," Peter repeated.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm the Hulk. Afraid he can't come out right now, though."

Peter blinked confusedly. "What? I mean, yeah, you are, but you're also the greatest gamma scientist _ever._ I've read all your papers, and they're amazing! The way-"

He was cut off by a shocked-looking Dr. Banner. "You've read all my papers?" he asked incredulously. 

"Yeah! I really admire how you were the first one to dig deeper into gamma radiation. My favourite paper is the one about gamma radiation and its effects! The way you explained-"

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Yeah, he's a genius, I forgot to tell you. I think that we have another potential science bro on our hands, Brucie."

Peter blushed. "I'm not a genius, Mr. Stark."

"Don't sell yourself short, Peter," Bruce said earnestly. "Even Tony has trouble keeping up with at times. My papers were meant for adults, not kids. For you to read them and _understand_ them, well, you have to be a genius, like Tony said."

"Bruce Banner called me a genius," Peter whispered in amazement. "The Bruce Banner. I can die happy now."

"What about me, kid?" Tony asked with mock indignation. "Do my words not count for anything?"

"Well, your word _is_ pretty big, Mr. Stark. Bu this is _Bruce Banner_ we're talking about."

"I could get used to this," Bruce said, looking amused.

"I can't believe this," Tony said, shaking his head. "Bruce walks in and I'm thrown out of the window."

His words fell on deaf ears, as Peter and Bruce started talking science. He gave up after a few more tries and went back to his work.

A few hours later, the three of them broke out of their science haze.

"I think it's about to be time for dinner," Peter said.

"Yeah, let's head up."

They went up and Peter told Dr. Banner (he insisted on calling him that) a little bit more about himself and how he ended up here. 

After a quick dinner, the three of them went down to the lab again. Peter worked well with Dr. Banner, who was fascinated by his web formula. Peter was in the middle of explaining it when he heard Mr. Stark curse. He looked around and saw that it was two in the morning. He and Dr. Banner quickly got up, intending to go to bed, but Tony said, "Hey kid, can you stay back for a second? I need to talk to you about something quickly."

"Sure, Mr. Stark," Peter said uncertainly. What would Mr. Stark need to talk to him about?

Dr. Banner left, and Mr. Stark turned his on Peter. "Kid, I just wanted to discuss the issue of your schooling. It has to start again soon, and I thought that it'd be best if you stayed at your current school. I just wanted to let you know and ask if that's fine with you."

Peter's mind was racing. He would have to return to school? Well, it made sense. But how was he going to explain this to everybody. The teachers? His classmates? MJ and Ned?

"Kid?" Tony asked, interrupting Peter's train of thought. "Are you okay?"

Peter took a deep breath. "I think I'll be fine with that, Mr. Stark. But how am I going to explain it to everybody?"

"We're going to work out those details. I'm trying to get you back in school as soon as possible because your education is necessary. You've already missed too much of it. Tomorrow, I'm going to try and set up a meeting with your principal and we'll see how to proceed from there."

"Okay. Am I going to be in this meeting?"

"It'll definitely be good for both of us if you come, so you'll want to consider tagging along. But for now, get your butt to bed."

Peter chucked. "Whatever you say, Mr. Stark. Good night."

* * *

Peter fidgeted in his seat in Mr. Morita's office. They had been granted a meeting on the spot ("That's how it works when you're me," Tony had said with a wink) and now they were here, discussing Peter's position.

Peter had already told his vague account for the past 10 and a half months, and Mr. Stark had taken over, discussing with Mr. Morita when he could get back to school.

"Mr. Stark, I understand what you're saying, and I cannot deny that Peter has been in a very difficult situation," Mr. Morita said, "but the fact still remains that he was removed from our active school list due to his prolonged period away from school that we had no information about. I can't simply just put him back on the list."

"Well, how long will it take?" Tony asked tensely.

Mr. Morita hesitated. "There will be some paperwork, both on my end and yours. I'll see to it that the forms get to you. If we work quickly, Peter will most likely be back after winter break."

"That's fine," Peter interjected. "I'll have makeup schoolwork to do in the meantime anyway, right?"

Mr. Morita nodded. "That's right, Mr. Parker. I will make sure that the coursework gets sent to you and you can work on it during the next few weeks. Is that all?"

Peter nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Morita, for your time."

"You're welcome, Mr. Parker."

"Now hold on a minute-"

Peter dragged Mr. Stark out of the room before he could finish that sentence, leaving behind a bemused-looking Mr. Morita.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I put Bruce in the last chapter, but I edited that so that Peter meets him here.  
> How do you guys feel about Peter returning to school? Looks like a reunion with old friends is on the horizon . .  
> Let me know how this was in the comments and please leave kudos!  
> I'm most probably going to update on the weekend with another two oneshots, so stay safe in the meantime everybody!


	4. Sleep Troubles, Nightmares, and . . . A Metal Arm?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's makeup coursework has come in: and he's pulling a huge work binge, which he does not intend to be pulled out of anytime soon.  
> Wanda has something to say about that, though.  
> And who exactly is Mr. Metal Arm Dude?

If there was one thing that Peter knew and recognized about himself, it was his tendency to overwork. It had been this way since he was a child, he would often work too hard and for too long at one time, and he would lose all sense of time and awareness when he started

It was no different when he got sent the makeup coursework. He printed it out, locked himself in his room, and started. 

Peter worked for hours on his schoolwork every day and late into the night, but it still didn't feel like enough. He needed to be prepared, he needed to be ready for whatever school was going to throw at him. 

So he worked. And worked. And worked.

He didn't know what day it was, each morning that dawned just meant another day of endless, frenetic study. 

He didn't notice how bad his personal state was getting, or the concerned looks the Avengers were throwing at him, or how unhealthy his routine was getting, because he needed to study, study, study . . .

"Peter!"

He jerked and jumped high, sticking to the roof. He looked down and saw one concerned-looking Wanda Maximoff with a cup of steaming tea in her hands. 

"What're you doing here?" he asked warily, dropping back down to the ground.

"Bringing you a cup of tea. You looked like you needed it. And to be fair, I did tap you on the shoulder. _Three times._ " She said the last part in a joking tone, but he didn't miss the concerned look in her eyes. 

"Thanks," he said, taking the cup of tea offered. He turned to go back to studying but saw that Wanda was making no move to leave. 

"Do you need something?"

Her lip twitched. "Well, I don't _need_ anything, but I do _want_ to know what's going on."

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently. 

"Nice try, Peter, but you know what I mean. I know you haven't been sleeping, you've barely been eating, and you haven't come out of your room for days."

"I'm just busy, that's all. I have a lot of school work to do."

"Well, that can wait for a little while, can't it? Just enough time for you to take a meal and a nap? Maybe a shower?"

"No!" Peter exclaimed. "I can't. And for your information, I took a shower last night." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"That's good to know, but you're not talking your way out of this one, Peter. Why can't you take a break?"

"I told you, I need to work," he mumbled, avoiding her eyes.

"That's not the full story though, is it?"

Peter didn't answer.

"So it isn't." Wanda leaned back. "What is it then, Peter? Why can't you take a break, Peter?"

"Because I need to _work!_ I have to be ready for school! I can't fail! I need to be able to do _something!_ You guys took me in, and I need to pay back for that somehow! I won't be able to do it if I start failing school!"

The explosive tirade seemed to have shocked Wanda as much as it shocked him. 

"I need to get back to work," he said numbly and turned around, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay. 

"Peter."

He didn't move.

"Peter, look at me."

He slowly turned around to face Wanda, who said gently, "Peter, you don't need to pay us back for anything, okay. We're the ones who made a mistake by attacking you for no reason. If anything, we should be the ones trying to make it up to you."

"You guys have already done so much for me, though!" Peter argued. 

"Then neither of us have to pay back for anything," Wanda said calmly. "Peter, we care about you. We're not keeping you here because we feel obligated or out of pity. We all care about you and right now, all of us are very concerned about your health. Things have to go in balance, Peter, and your health comes first. I understand that it will be tough for you to adjust to school again right away, and I know that you're doing everything that you can to prepare for it, which is good. Just don't forget your health along the way.

Peter hesitated and nodded. "Thanks, Wanda."

She smiled. "Anytime, Peter. Now, how about we go get something to eat?"

Peter got up and a wave of dizziness immediately hit him. He wobbled and would have fallen if Wanda hadn't caught him. 

"Easy there, Peter," she murmured. "Give it a minute. Your body needs to adjust after sitting for so long."

It took a minute or two before Peter was able to walk and they both went to the kitchen where there was a meal set up.

"Smells good," Peter said with a smile.

Wanda smiled back. "Thank you, I made it myself."

Peter devoured the meal embarrassingly fast, and he probably would've been mortified if it wasn't for how hungry he was. 

"Time for a nap," Wanda said after he was done.

Peter tried to protest, but the glare Wanda sent his way was so reminiscent of May that he gave up, knowing that there was no use. 

He followed Wanda quietly to his bedroom, which, now that he looked at it, was a complete _mess._ Papers were strewn everywhere, there a pile of dirty clothes, and dust was beginning to settle. 

He organized his room a little bit, but exhaustion was quickly overwhelming him now that he had been brought out of his work haze. He only just managed to clear his bed before he collapsed onto it and let sleep take him.

* * *

_Let's play a game, Einstein . . ._

Peter woke up gasping and flailing, and he could feel Skip's hands all over him again, and he _couldn't breathe . . ._

In a panicked haze, he stumbled out of his room, his lungs screaming for air, and his eyes travelled to the windows where New York City twinkled in the night.

_You're not there anymore._

_You're safe._

He relaxed slightly and started listing random facts in his head until he could breathe normally again. 

He silently padded to the kitchen, still shaky from his panic attack. He knew there was no hope for any more sleep, not with Skip's face still looming in his brain. 

He was making hot chocolate when his enhanced senses picked up the faint sound of footsteps as someone entered. He tensed and turned around to find a strange man with long hair and - was that a metal arm?

"Is that a metal arm?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth. He cringed. "Sorry, that was pretty insensitive."

Metal Arm Dude said nothing, just continued to stare silently at him. 

Peter cleared his throat and turned back to his hot chocolate, feeling awkward.

_You've got to be cooler than this, Peter._

The silence continued and Metal Arm Dude stared silently into space, then started as Peter handed him a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

"Take it. Looks like you need it."

He took it hesitantly and took a cautious sop before draining the cup.

"Quick drinker, huh?" Peter asked mildly as he took a seat.

"What are you doing up, kid?" the man asked in a gruff voice, _finally_ speaking.

"I could ask you the same thing," Peter retorted. 

The man raised his eyebrows. "Deflection. Interesting. You usually up this late, then?"

"You're another super-spy, aren't you?" Peter asked casually, relaxing into his chair.

"Answer my questions, and I might answer yours."

"You gotta learn how to negotiate, dude," Peter said easily, "because that was a terrible deal. And I think we're both up because of the same thing, am I right?"

He wasn't expecting any response from the man, but he gave a small nod.

"Hmm. Then I guess we both know that we're not going to sleep anytime soon." He rose from his chair, collected the mugs, and put them in the sink. "I got work to do, so I'm going to head off. You look like a gym type of person to me, mister, so my guess is that you're probably going to go punch some bags. Not the best outlet of emotions, in my opinion, but hey, you do you. If you don't feel like beating the crap out of punching bags with that metal arm of yours, well, me and my hot chocolate are chilling here every night. You're welcome to join me." 

He smiled at the man and left the room, leaving James Buchanan Barnes to wonder what the heck had just happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think that it was? I know that MCU Peter is generally portrayed as a shy character, but I wanted to show that his time on the streets has definitely changed his confidence levels. I was really excited about writing the work binge, and Wanda stopping it is just the best.  
> Please leave kudos! (and a comment, if it's not trouble)


	5. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's nightmares will not stop, and the Avengers are asked to watch a video that leaves them all stunned.  
> The italic, bolded part is the video.

In Peter's opinion, sleep was overrated. It wasted valuable time, and it also brought nightmares. Nightmares _suck_.

Peter had consistently been having nightmares these days he had pretty much given on sleep. (Not for the first time, either.) He didn't need much of it anyway, so what was the point. 

He became late-night buddies with Metal Arm Dude, who said his name was James (he sounded unsure, though). He hadn't told Peter anything else about himself yet, and Peter didn't press. 

The nightmares were getting seriously annoying, though. This wasn't Peter's longest nightmare strike (not yet, anyway) but it was definitely contending for the most annoying one.

* * *

Peter woke up gasping for breath yet again. He got up wearily, already accustomed to his night routine. (Honestly, he didn't even know why he still tried to get sleep.)

Wait a second. 

This wasn't his room, it was the common room, which meant he had fallen asleep on a sofa. If he had fallen asleep on a sofa in the common room and had had a nightmare, that meant . . . 

"You're up."

Peter flinched violently as the voice rang out.

"Hey, Natasha," he said warily, turning around slowly to face the redhead. 

"You fell asleep on the couch," she said in a tone that had Peter instantly tensing. "I found you and decided to leave you be. _However,_ I did hear something about a Skip."

"Nothing you need to worry about," Peter said stiffly.

Natasha cocked her head. "I'd say that it _is_ something to worry about if it's giving you nightmares."

Peter didn't respond.

"Peter, I just want to help you, okay? Everyone does. I understand why you might have difficulty talking about certain things, but we're all here for you if you need us."

She left the room and Peter sighed.

What was he going to do now?

"JARVIS, how come Peter hasn't come down for dinner yet?" Tony asked, frowning. 

"Mr. Parker wanted you all to watch a video first," JARVIS replied.

That instantly got everyone's attention. "What video, JARVIS?" Tony asked sharply.

"I believe it is some footage that was recorded three months ago when Mr. Parker first arrived at the Tower. It was stored under Protocol 12684."

"The privacy protocol," Tony muttered. "Well, JARVIS, roll it."

The video started and it showed Peer lying in one of the cots in the Stark Tower medbay. Helen was telling JARVIS to initiate the privacy protocol. She then began to ask Peter about his abilities. Tony and some other Avengers zoned out, already knowing the information. They all were back to attention, though, when Helen asked the question that had been lurking in their minds. 

_" **What on Earth happened that left you in such a bruised and starving state, Peter?"** _

They all saw how Peter froze.

Helen immediately began to reassure him, but the only part of her speech that Tony remembered was, _**"If your heart wasn't beating, I would've been 100% convinced that I was treating a dead body."** _

His hands clenched into fists. They- the Avengers had done that, like it or not. They had made a terrible, horrible mistake and it showed how they couldn't just blindly listen to SHIELD. 

He turned back to the video where Peter was looking hesitant.

**_"My aunt died eight months ago," he said quietly, "She was my last living relative. My uncle died a year and a half ago, and my parents died when I was six."_ **

**_"I was moved to foster care, and my foster parent was, Skip Westcott,"_ **

Tony noticed how Peter tensed when he said his former foster parent's name and his heart sank.

_Please, please, don't let this mean what I think it does._

_" **Skip, uh, he wasn't exactly the greatest."** _

**_"Peter."_ **

**_Helen looked horrified. "Did he abuse you?"_ **

**_Peter's gaze dropped. "Yeah, bu-but it wasn't physical."_ **

And Tony absolutely _shattered._

"No," he croaked. "Please-"

Beside him, Wanda had her hand over her mouth, looking horrified. Natasha was sitting ramrod still, Clint, Steve, and Sam looked repulsed, while Bruce had developed a faint green tinge. 

**_Peter was looking more and more panicked on the screen._ **

**_"Peter-"_ **

**_"I wouldn't have gone along with it, Ms. Helen, I swear, but Skip told me he had a child in the basement. He said her name was Betty. He threatened to hurt her if I didn't do what he wanted, so I let him do it. Every. Single. Night. After two weeks, he had to go somewhere for the day, so I snuck into the basement, looking to free Betty, but she - she was dead. I - she was just lying there, Ms. Helen, covered in blood, bound in chains, and I couldn't - I couldn't - "_ **

**_Peter broke off with the sob and Helen hugged him._ **

Wanda was crying and Tony felt his own tears forming. Peter- the kid had been through so much - he could hardly believe that the kid was as good as he was.

"I'm going to kill that asshole," Natasha muttered, looking murderous, and Clint nodded beside her.

**_"Peter, I want you to listen to me," Helen said firmly, "Nothing that happened was your fault, okay? It was all Skip's fault."_ **

**_"I could have fought back," Peter whispered, his voice muffled, "I could have fought back, but I - "_ **

**_"But you didn't," Helen interrupted. "You didn't because you were worried about the life of another person, and that not cowardly, Peter. That's heroic. You didn't want Betty to get hurt because of your actions, so you kept quiet and willingly endured one of the worst evils of humanity. That doesn't make you weak, Peter. That makes you strong. To have such a high moral ground, to worry so much about another person's life that you let yourself be submitted to tortures, that's something that even heroes struggle with sometimes. You acted more heroic than most superheroes would be able to, and you did it as a civilian. So you need to understand, just because you didn't fight back, doesn't make it your fault. None of it is. Understand, Peter?"_ **

**_He nodded against her shoulder. She exhaled and said, "Good."_ **

Tony couldn't believe it. Peter thought _he_ was responsible for the death of Betty? That was far from the truth. It was all that _bastard_ Skip's fault.

As soon as this was over, he was going to pay a visit to Skip Westcott.

**_Helen said gently, "Peter, I don't want to push you, so it's completely fine if you don't want to tell me the rest."_ **

**_"No, I want to," Peter whispered. He took a deep breath and started speaking. "I ran away that day, Ms. Helen, and I've been on the streets ever since. I knew food would be my biggest problem. With my enhanced metabolism, I get hungry fast, so I managed to get a job under the table that just about kept me going. I was doing fine, but then a month ago, the Avengers started showing up. I also lost my job, and between the two, I started losing weight fast. My healing factor also depends on the amount of food I get, so it also started slowing down. I got weaker and weaker each day, and I knew I was on my way to death. When the Avengers finally captured me, I could barely stand, and then my organs started shutting down. With my enhanced senses, I could actually hear my heart and lungs start to slow down, my kidneys beginning to fail. I was ready to die, Ms. Helen, and I thought I did, but then I woke up here, and, well you know the rest."_ **

And Tony couldn't breathe. He knew that they had come terrifyingly close to killing Peter, but hearing this - it just- he couldn't put it into words.

_" **You continued to be Spider-Man in all of this?"** _

**_"Well, yeah," Peter replied, looking slightly confused, "Why wouldn't I be?"_ **

**_"Peter, you were starving, malnourished, and could barely function, not to mention homeless," Helen said. "You seriously didn't see that as a reason to stop?"_ **

**_Peter shook his head vehemently. "Of course not! I couldn't stop because of that. My personal life should never interfere with helping other people. I learned a long time ago, Ms. Helen, that when I've been given the powers I have and I have a chance to do something right, I need to do it. Because if I don't and bad things follow? They happen because of me."_ **

The response and expression on his face was so _Peter_ that Tony couldn't help but smile. The kid had an unshakeable moral compass, and he honestly wasn't surprised that the kid continued with Spider-Man.

The feed cut then, leaving the Avengers shocked, angry, guilty, and sad in more ways than one.

* * *

Wanda barreled up the stairs, heading straight for Peter's room, scattered parts of the video flashing through her mind.

_A child in the basement . . ._

_I let him do it. Every. Single. Night._

_She- she died._

_I-she was just lying there, covered in blood, bound in chains. . ._

_I figured I was going to die . . ._

_I could hear my organs shutting down . . ._

_My heart and my lungs were slowing down . . ._

**_I was ready to die._ **

Wanda reached Peter's room and flung open the door, revealing a very nervous Peter pacing in his bedroom.

"Wanda, I know what you're -" he was cut off by Wanda wrapping him in a tight hug. 

"What?" he mumbled, still tense.

"I saw the video, Peter."

"Yeah, I know, I just - I thought you'd be mad."

Wanda drew back and fixed him with an incredulous stare. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, you know about Betty now," he mumbled, not looking at her.

Wanda's eyes softened and she drew the fumbling boy back into a firm hug. "Betty wasn't your fault, Peter. I know that it's not easy for you to believe that, but it _wasn't._ "

"I still feel guilt," Peter said softly. "That I made it and she didn't. I-she was so _young,_ Wanda."

Wanda held the trembling teen tighter and levitated a couch towards them, since it didn't seem like they were going anywhere anytime soon.

A few minutes later, Peter yawned and immediately flushed. "Sorry, just tired."

"Not sleeping again, are you?" Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow. 

He shrugged. "No, not a lot."

"And what exactly is "not a lot"?"

"Around half an hour to an hour every night."

Wanda smacked him gently on the back of his head. "Idiot. Why?"

"In my defense, I only need about three hours of sleep, so it's not as bad as you're thinking."

"Don't change the subject. Why?"

"Nightmares," Peter muttered.

"Well then, sleep. I'll stay here."

"There's no need for that!"

"It's okay. Besides-" she smirked at him. "you're better than any blanket."

Peter turned bright red, which only made her smirk harder.

She started to card her fingers through his brown curls and was surprised at how he relaxed against her.

"Aun' May used to do that," he murmured, sleep clearly overtaking him.

She said nothing but continued her gentle motions, and soon enough, she was also asleep, lulled by the warmth Peter's body provided.   
They both slept through till morning peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how do you think that went? This particular chapter has been in my mind for a long time, and I'm excited that I finally got to write it!  
> Please leave kudos and comments (I thrive on them!)


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